China's LPG apparent consumption in January-July 2011 rose to 13.59-mil mt, up by 6.64% from the same period in 2010, showed the data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Market sources ascribed the increase mainly to growing demand from industries amid rapid economic growth and the development of rural LPG market.
China produced 12.58-mil mt of LPG in the seven months, up by 8.6%, according to the data. LPG production went up amid larger refining capacity and high operation rates.
The country's LPG imports climbed by 5.69% to 1.72-mil mt in the period, the data indicated. The rise was primarily attributable to the expectation of higher prices and lower domestic output amid refinery maintenance sometime during this period.
In the meantime, China boosted LPG exports by 51.71% to 0.71-mil mt, thanks to growing demand from destination markets.
